Coop for chickens



(No Model.)

W. W. MENDENHALL. COOP FOR OHIOKENS No. 569,295. Patented Oct. 13, 1896.

P a El m m DJ 1% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VALTER V. MENDENHALL, OF GREENSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

COOP FOR CHICKENS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,295, dated October 13, 1896.

Application filed June 17, 1895- Serial No. 553,110. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VALTER XV. MENDEN- HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greensborough, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Chicken-Coop, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to coops, crates, and similar devices, and has for its object to provide a simple, strong, and durable structure having a suitable door or closure adapted to be locked in its closed position and so arranged as to give easy access to the interior.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crate constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section. Fig. 3 is a transverse section. Fig. l: is a detail view of the cover inverted. Fig. 5 is a detail section showing the spring for actuating the door.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The frame of the crate embodying my invention comprises upper, lower, and intermediate end bars 1 and side bars 2, connected to form the corners by tongues 3, fitting in slots i, and corner-rods 5, extending through vertically-alined perforations in the jointed extremities of the side and end bars, said perforations extending through the interlocking tongues and bifurcated extremities. The intervals between the horizontal end and side bars are spanned by the vertical filling-wires 6. Corner-straps 7 extend around the joints formed by the intersecting extremities of the bars.

Between the upper end bars of the frame are arranged parallel stiffening-strips 8, and filling-wires 9 are arranged horizontally in registering-perforations in said strips and are fitted at their extremities in sockets in the upper side bars. The filling-wires between the central portions of the stiffening-strips are omitted for a distance sufficient to form a door-opening, and at opposite ends of this door-openin g are arranged tie-rods 10, extending through alined perforations in the upper side bars, and the stiffeningstrips are doubled upon themselves at their extremities to form clips 11, which engage the outer surfaces of the side bars. The door or closure 12 is provided at one end with a kerf or slot 13, which engages one of the tie-rods between the intermediate or stiffening strips, the outer side of said kerf or slot being closed to prevent disengagement of the door or closure by means of transverse pins 14, intersecting the kerf or slot, and arranged in a socket 15, communicating with the kerf or slot, is a spring 16, which bears at its outer end against the tie-rod forming the pivot of the door or closure, and thereby forces the latter toward the other tie-rod, said door or closure being capable of repression or movement toward the tie-rod upon which it is pivoted for the purpose of disengaging the kerf or slot 17 at its free end from the other tie-rod. The door or closure is extended above the kerf or slot 17 to form a stop-ear 18, which projects beyond the portion of the door upon the opposite side of said kerf or slot and serves to prevent the free end of the door from swinging downwardly into the coop or crate. Furthermore, this projecting ear forms a means by which the operator may take hold of the door or closure to repress it sufficiently to disengage the kerf or slot 17 from the tie-rod and thereby release the closure. The spring at the hinged end of the door or closure holds the kerf or slot 17 normally in engagement with the tierod and thereby locks the door or closure in its closed position.

The lower side bars are rabbeted, as shown at 19, to form seats for the reception of the extremities of the floor-boards 20, whereby the upper surface of the floor is flush with the upper surfaces of the lower end and side bars of the frame, and a longitudinal brace 21 connects the centers of the end bars to support the intermediate portion of the floor. The supporting blocks or strips 22 are secured to the under surface of the lower side and end bars with their lower surfaces flush with the lower surface of the brace 21.

The corner-bolts 5 are provided at their upper ends with countersunk heads and are engaged at their lower ends by nuts 23, which bear against the under surfaces of the intersecting side and end bars, said nuts and the lower ends of the bolts being arranged above the lower surfaces of the supportin strips or blocks 22, which terminate short of the corners of the frame, and the side filling-wires 6 are stepped at their extremities in sockets in the upper, lower, and intermediate side and end bars, and thus prevent said bars from being drawn toward each other when thebolts formingthe corner-bars are adjusted. By means of these adjustable corner-bars the coop may be tightened when the parts become loosened by wear, changes of temperature, &c., to secure the desired tension and stiffness.

From the above description it will be seen that the construction of the improved coop or crate is simple and strong without being heavier than efficient devices of a similar class now in use, and the improved door or closure with which the crate is provided may be operated with facility to give easy access to the interior thereof.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is The combination with a coop or crate having a door-opening and transversely-disposed wires at the extremities of the door-opening, of a door or closure provided at its extremities with kerfs or slots 13 and 17 to engage said wires, respectively, a spring arranged in a socket communicating with the slot 13 at one end of the door and bearing at one end against the wire with which the slot 13 is engaged to force the door toward the other wire,

a transverse pin connecting the walls of the kerf or slot 13 to strike the wire in said slot and limit the movement of the door under the tension of the spring, and a projecting car at the free end of the door formed by an extension of one side of the slot 17 to bear upon the outer side of the wire with which said kerf or slot 17 is engaged, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER MENDENHALL.

lVitnesses:

J. M. WOLFE, S. A. KIRKMAN. 

